A Theory of Everything
by TeeNa3
Summary: Sequel to "Show Me Your Soul". Old characters return to new settings, but what is happening and why? And what was written that shall come to pass?
1. Prologue

Something was wrong. Libby knew it from the moment she felt the chilly wind against her cheeks. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. She was still alive. Something was very wrong.

'No', she whispered. 'Not this. It can't be.'

She looked around quickly. It was dark, but she could see that it was Boston, she knew the area pefectly well in any time, Harvard was a block away and she rushed towards the university's building.

Once she was near Walter's lab she felt relief that the lights were on and she opened the door immediately. The very first person she saw was a young man in a lab coat who was standing with his back to her, but she definitely knew who it was. The young man turned around at the sound of the doot being open and squinted through his glasses.

"Hello?" he said. "May I help you?"

Libby thought her heart was trying to jump out of her chest.

"Hi..." she smiled. "You're al... I mean, you're agent Lee, right?"

Lincoln nodded and Libby made her way down the stairs and walked up to Lincoln shaking his hand.

"Libby Carroll, I was sent her by the New York office to help with the investigation."

Lincoln was about to say something a opened his mouth, but suddenly was interrupted by Walter's voice from somewhere not far away...

"Lester, did you not put my magazines where they were supposed to be?"

Lincoln rolled his eyes and shouted back.

"No, Doctor Bishop, I am pretty sure your extensive library is right where you left it!"

Libby frowned.

"Lester?"

Lincoln laughed and raised his hand.

"Um... That would be me."

Libby laughed a little, too, as he seemed to be a little ashamed of Walter mixing up his name. Libby bit her lip.

"I see. So, to the brass tags. I assume the other agents will arrive soon?"

"You mean agents Lee, Dunham, Dunham, Farnsworth and Francis? They're out in the field, I think."

The feeling in Libby's stomach reminded her of all the roller-coasters in the world at the same time. She shook her head and held up her hands.

"Wait... who?"

"Agents Lee, Dunham, Dunham..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Dunham AND Dunham?"

Lincoln raised his eyebrows and nodded as if that was something way too obvious and simple not to understand.

"I... well..." she felt so confused, "is Peter coming, too?"

"I'm sorry, Peter who?"

The feeling got worse.

"Peter... Bishop?" Libby asked.

Lincoln shook his head.

"I'm sorry, we don't have any Peters here. Not that I know of. And Doctor Bishop is the only Bishop I know. At least..."

"Lester, this is not funny! I can't find the September issue of Modern Science!"

Lincoln winced and his face looked like he just ate a lemon.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go help him, even if it requires entering the bathroom with him in it. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

He went away leaving Libby alone. The only thought that was on her mind at the moment was "what the hell" and the first thing she did was pull out her cell phone. She dialed a number and waited for the answer.

"Yes?" a male voice said.

"We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 1 It's a Wonderful Life

Fringe Division agent Olivia Dunham was sitting alone in her bedroom in darkness. Only the light from the moon was leaking through the window as if pointing directly to what she had been looking at for the past few minutes.

On her bed was spread a stunningly beautiful white dress, the symbol of her commitment to Frank. She was getting married soon and that was what she was thinking about. In a month she was going to be Missis Doctor Frank Stanton and she knew that she was supposed to feel happy… yet, there was this small voice in her head that kept telling her that something was off.

A phone call interrupted her thoughts.

"Dunham."

"Hey, it's me."

Olivia smiled.

"Hey, Linc, what's up?"

His voice always sounded so gentle and soothing when he was talking to her. Although his seriousness told her he wasn't calling to talk.

"Fringe Event reported on the other side", he told her briefly. "We were told to get there. Boston. Their headquarters. Broyles will meet us there."

She closed her eyes and gulped.

"Okay, let's meet on the Island in twenty… I don't wanna go on my own."

She could swear she heard him chuckle.

"Alright, Liv, got it. Don't be late."

"I'm never late."

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

The united Fringe Division headquarters on the Liberty Island were weird. Once Olivia and Lincoln flashed their credentials they were granted access to a place that was there and nowhere at the same time. The "Bridge" that they built together to help both worlds survive and stop the decay. Secretary Bishop made sure the place was heavily guarded on both sides by the best of the best and not a single soul without special clearance could enter this place.

"I still can't get used to this", Olivia told Lincoln.

He looked at her as they walked through the metal detector and down the hallway that led to the room where they were supposed to crossover to the other side. The "FBI" side, where a whole tourist attraction was closed down for the sake of their collaboration.

"To what?" he asked frowning.

Olivia shrugged in the way that she always did: arms everywhere, lips moving, baring teeth, eyes searching for something.

"I don't know", she had a hard time coming up with words. She wasn't sure. "It's weird to see this world… It looks like ours, but it's nothing like ours, right?"

They both glanced at the Machine as they passed it. That giant mechanism, that piece of some strange ancient technology was what brought them together. They were curious about how it worked, but some things they just couldn't comprehend.

Broyles met them right outside. Olivia had a feeling he didn't want to go in and since it was their turn to show up at a Fringe site in a parallel universe she knew they had to put up with everything this side had to offer. Their phones still worked here, their clothes were a little ahead of fashion over there… over here… she should have felt comfortable. Yet she completely understood Colonel Broyles and his lack of desire to enter the "Bridge".

They had to drive all the way from New York to Boston. It wasn't their first cooperation on this side, but it always felt strange. She had millions of questions, jokes, facts and songs in her head that she wanted to tell Lincoln about, but all three of them sat in absolute silence, Lincoln and Olivia exchanging glances full or both pain and sarcasm from time to time.

"He could've at least turned on the radio", Lincoln told her quietly as they entered a tall building that was probably considered modern over here. Olivia held back a snort.

"What do we have here?" she asked Broyles as they walked into a dark room on one of the many floors of the Boston FBI Headquarters.

He pointed at the transparent glass. The other Olivia, the FBI agent, was already in the interrogation room with a man and had just made a sign that she was ready to ask questions. Everyone went quiet and began listening.

"Mister Reed", she began, "please tell me what happened last night."

The man to whom she referred as "Mister Reed" was pale and couldn't stop shaking. He looked as if he was about to cry. It was cold in there, Olivia had to admit, but Mister Reed probably had other reasons for looking like an albino leaf in the wind.

"I don't know…" he barely whispered trying to avoid eye contact with his prosecutor.

Olivia knew her alternate had enough patience to make the man tell them what they needed.

"Please tell me what you saw, then", the blonde woman continued calmly. "What did you see when you came home?"

Mister Reed's lips quivered.

"I… when I came home I… I saw my wife", his voice was shaking, full of fear, "with… with my best friend…" He broke down and had to cover his eyes with his hand. "They were… together…"

Olivia thought she saw Lincoln fidget a little with the corner of her eye. Her alternate inside the interrogation room rearranged her hands on the table.

"And what did you do?" the FBI agent asked. She already knew the answer, but apparently wanted to hear Reed's confession.

"I killed them." The man took his hand away from his face and said sharply looking Olivia right in the eye. It sounded like he didn't regret anything. "I killed them both."

"Do you confess to murder of your wife, Mister Reed?" the woman asked coldly. Olivia couldn't help but admire her double's stamina. The woman was clearly a professional.

"Yes", he snarled. "They deserved it."

Olivia sighed and looked at the glass that looked like a mirror on her side, but she, of course, knew that other agents were carefully watching her every move.

"I think we're done", she said standing up.

Seconds later she appeared in the room where the rest of the team members were.

"I don't understand", she shook her head. "The man is convinced he killed both his wife and his best friend, but the police found only one body."

"Maybe he hid the other one?" Lincoln asked trying to clear the situation for both him and his Fringe Division partner, but the FBI Olivia shook her head again.

"No, that is impossible."

Her words were met by puzzled looks.

"I don't know what this man saw", she explained, "but Preston Bardsley, who happens to be Mister Reed's best friend that he thinks he killed last night, has been out of town since last week. And he still is, I must add. Well and alive."

"Then what did this champ see?" Olivia folded her arms and nodded in Reed's direction.

"Hallucinations", came a quiet raspy male voice from somewhere in the darkest corner of the room.

The Fringe Division agents whirled around and straightened their backs.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know you were here, sir", Lincoln said in his military voice looking straight ahead.

"Oh…" the blonde agent's gaze went from his face to the woman's next to him who copied him immediately. She frowned and shook her head yet again. "No, it's not…"

Doctor Walter Bishop slowly stood up from his chair and came out of the shadow, looking so small and so old in his shabby gray sweater that had a tiny, but visible stain from some fruit or berry and Olivia caught herself thinking that it kind of looked like Nevada… she tried to shake these thoughts out of her head and not to laugh. She thought she was supposed to relax a little, but Lincoln seemed even more strained now and she didn't know how to act.

"I need his blood sample", Bishop said particularly to no one, but probably talking to one of the agents from this side. "And make sure you get it to my lab," he paused, "I have to compare it."

"Compare to what?" Broyles had his best skeptical grimace on.

"To my collection", Olivia thought she saw Doctor Bishop smile a little as he turned away and headed for the door, but maybe it was just a trick of the light. Or the lack of it.

They went outside. The air was too fresh for such a big city like Boston and Olivia couldn't help but breathe in, letting oxygen fill her lungs, enjoying the sense of freedom that sort of came along. Freedom to forget about inhalers and auburn diamonds. There was a whole new world to explore and she just couldn't wait to begin.

But back in her own there were errands and deadlines and that wedding dress that was still spread on her bed…

"What's on your mind?" she heard Lincoln's voice beside her, dragging her out of her thoughts.

She exhaled, looked at him and smiled.

"Coffee", was all she said and by the look on Lincoln's face, without him saying a word, she could tell that he thought it was a great idea.

A man in a dark pea coat furrowed his eyebrow. He reached into his pocket and fished out a small leather bound notebook and a pen, sighing heavily. After opening the notebook he looked down and then up again, watching the people across the street get into a car. He wrote something down, threw another glance at them and wrote more. Then he closed the notebook and put it back in his pocket.

"This isn't the way it's supposed to be, is it?" he seemed to address this question to no one, but when he turned his head there was another man, in a vintage hat and with a briefcase and no eyebrows.

"No", the other man replied. "It is not."

The man in the pea coat sighed again.

"Why is she here?" he asked.

"She did not want to go", the man with no eyebrows replied. "It was her choice. She does not know her power."

Both fell silent and continued to watch the car as it drove away and soon was out of sight. Then the man in a pea coat nodded.

"Keep watching. You know what to do."

And then both were gone.


	3. Chapter 2 Contingency of Reinforcement

Colonel Broyles looked so busy staring at the breathe-taking view of night Boston that Olivia was afraid to interrupt him at first. It wasn't until the other agents walked in just about two minutes after her that he finally became aware of their presence.

"Thank you for arriving on such short notice, agents", he said turning to them, hands in a firm lock behind his back. "We received intelligence on possible whereabouts of our suspects."

He looked over the five agents standing in front of him.

"However", he continued, "it is still unclear where the terrorists are hiding and if they are exactly where we think they are supposed to be."

"You really think it's someone's fault that this man killed his wife?" Olivia asked. She felt her blonde alt-version's gaze pierce her. She could swear the FBI agent smiled because this thought had probably already crossed her mind as well.

"Yes, agent Dunham", Broyles simply told her looking her right in the eye. "I really do think that this isn't the first time we have some solid evidence on our hands concerning The Pattern."

All agents became quiet and serious.

"Mister Reed was a patient at the cancer center at Boston Hospital. He was treated for anemia with cutting edge medicine which helped him and a few other patients. But the consequences were tricky it seems, and not only for him. We received another call concerning one of the other patients' distorted perception which led to another casualty and traced it back to what we think is the center of a biological terrorist cell."

Everyone was motionless.

"So." Broyles said again. "I will need four people on that. Two in the field, two as a back-up."

"Sir, I'm..." Lincoln began, stepping forward, but was quickly beleaguered by Broyles.

"I'm sorry, agent Lee", the tall man said, "I don't remember asking for your opinion."

Olivia thought she heard Charlie suppress a chuckle.

"Weren't you the one claiming you're the scientist on that team?" Broyles raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you help Doctor Bishop solve the mystery of the substance in Mister Reed's blood?"

Lincoln winced.

"But I'm more used to working in the field..."

"Let's leave it to the other agent Lee, shall we? I'm sure he has already proved himself to be capable of field-duty. Or am I wrong?"

Lincoln gulped.

"No, sir", and he stepped back into the line. Broyles' eyes swept all five of them.

"Francis, you work with agent Dunham from over here as a back-up", he told Charlie who was definitely hoping to hear "over there" instead, but still agreed silently. "Agent Dunham of the Fringe Division will work with Special Agent Lee on location. Agent Farnsworth, you are requested to stay at the Headquarters and monitor the operation from here. Clear?"

A sound "yes sir" ripped the air in Broyles's office apart.

"Good", the bald man replied. "Now get to work, people."

"Is he always like that?" Lincoln asked the man in glasses that was sitting at the table as he walked into one of the room at the Harvard basement laboratory.

"Walter?" the other Lincoln looked at his alternate version and raised his eyebrows. "No, sometimes he actually..."

"I meant Broyles", Captain Lee dropped into the chair opposite and put his legs on the table making the FBI agent furrow his eyebrow in silent disapproval.

"No", he replied, "he's not always like that."

"Then why's he treating us this way? I mean, I just want to be there, work, look after... my... agents. See what I mean? I really do. I'd do anything to be there."

"Well", the bespectacled Lincoln sighed and shrugged, "my guess would be that he doesn't really trust you yet. He, um... wants to prove that our Fringe Division is better prepared... maybe..."

"But you haven't seen what we've seen!"

"So have you."

Lincoln was taken aback by how calm his alt-version was. He stood up and walked over to that man that looked like his twin. But even twins have different fingerprints...

"Hey!" the FBI agent shouted as the other man snatched his glasses right off his nose.

Lincoln put on the glasses and squinted.

"Sweet mother of God, how do you even see in those?" he asked taking them off and putting them on the table.

"None of your business", the other Lincoln replied and it took only a moment for him to realized that now the other agent looked so much like him. As if they were brothers... He suddenly felt a sting of sadness and a strong urge to sit back down.

"What was he like?" he said after a few seconds.

The other man frowned.

"Who?"

"Nick..."

"Oh..." Lincoln from over here probably couldn't see clearly, but the look on his face was clearly showing that some sad memories were brought back. "He... um... he was a weird kid."

There was a moment of silence.

"I mean, I never really knew him", he continued. "After our parents died in a car crash he... he sort of went mental..."

"Can't blame him..."

Captain Lee put the glasses on again.

"I nearly lost my sight after that crash", he said trying to define shapes and colors in deformed lenses. "If it wasn't for our tech, I don't think I'd be able to see now."

"But you became a strong man, right? It didn't kill you, but made you stronger."

"Yeah..." Lincoln sighed. "So. Honestly. How do I look?"

He looked at what seemed to be the other Lincoln and smiled.

"Honestly", the other man said. "Like an idiot."

"Why thanks", Lincoln pretended to be insulted. "I'm sure you look like one yourself."

"Don't be silly, you look fine", the FBI agent laughed. "I'm sure I look the same..."

He fell silent suddenly and Lincoln had to take the glasses off to see that his alt-version was deep in thought.

"What?" he asked curiously. "What's on your mind?"

The man from Connecticut smiled.

"Well, nothing specific yet."

Olivia and Charlie stood by an abandoned storage facility where the suspects supposedly were hiding. It was quite awkward for both of them, especially for Olivia. Especially after everything she's been through. She couldn't help but think about Charlie from over here and Sonya and children they never had... Thoughts about children made her even sadder.

The other Olivia, the one from over there, and agent Lee from over here have already headed for the entrance in hope to find the terrorists' lair.

"Do you think your Lincoln acts funny?" Olivia suddenly asked Charlie.

The man with the scar frowned.

"Define 'funny'."

"The way he acts around your Olivia."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I think he has a thing for her."

"You think?" he smirked.

"Totally. Don't you?" At least this conversation was a lot more fun then the one she was about to have with herself inside her own head.

Charlie chuckled.

"One thing I know about Lincoln Lee, kiddo, is that you'll never know what's on his mind unless he tells it to you himself."

Olivia took out her gun once they stepped into a dark storage facility. The smell was disgusting and she was about to make a joke about one case they investigated with Lincoln together which involved lots of hydrogen sulfide, needles and mice which Charlie accidentally misheard as "ice" when being briefed which led to a few awkward yet memorable moments... but it was the FBI agent Lincoln Lee with her now.

He also held his gun at the ready and was clearly determined to find the culprits, his glasses reflecting rare flashes of light. Olivia couldn't help but smile sadly. He was a little like her very own Lincoln. Maybe a little too shy, a little too bookish, but there was some resemblance, she couldn't deny it. Still, he wasn't the same person, that was for sure.

She remembered Frank. Was he the same? Was he the man she knew when they met? Did he change? Did she? Why did it feel wrong? Where would their marriage lead them?

She almost lowered her gun when her thoughts about Frank were interrupted for the second time that day by the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Well, well, well", they heard a raspy voice speaking with a distinctive British accent behind their backs and quickly spun around pointing their guns at the source. "What do we have here?"

The man clapped his hands together and looked at Olivia and Lincoln admiringly which scared the hell out of the Fringe agent. Suddenly, with the corner of her eye she spotted green and red flashes.

"No..." she whispered, nostrils flaring. "Lincoln, close you eyes!"

"Liv?" she heard Lincoln say in a very weird manner. "What is it?"

"Close your eyes now!" she commanded, but failed to close her own eyes and it was too late. In a couple of seconds she felt like she'd been asleep for hours. Trying to regain consciousness, she quickly looked at Lincoln who was blinking furiously behind his glasses. The man with a raspy voice seemed to be long gone.

"What was that..." he began, but soon started coughing. "Liv... what's wrong?"

Olivia was fighting not to start coughing herself. She took a deep breathe and held out her arms as if trying to grab onto some invisible wall or handle bar.

"Lincoln..." suddenly she felt herself faint. He looked back at her, worried. "I think he drugged us..."

That was all Olivia managed to say before she collapsed and the only thing she knew before passing out was that Lincoln's strong arms prevented her from falling down and hitting her head. But what were the chances he didn't black out as well.

In the lab Lincoln was watching through half-lidded eyes as Walter kept on studying Reed's blood under the microscope. He was sure he had lost the track of the scientist's actions a long time ago, probably right after Walter began kind of poking the sample with a magnet and tying electrodes to a rat. He was almost falling asleep, sitting in a chair with his legs on the table, dozing off to different quiet clinking and buzzing sounds, but just as his eyes had closed he heard Walter say something out loud.

"This is a very peculiar compound..." Walter was probably only talking to himself quietly. "It's iron-based which, of course, means, it could be used to cure the disease, but..."

He paused. Lincoln took his legs off the table and sat straight in his chair.

"What is it, Doctor Bishop?" he tried to act carefully, expecting Walter to burst out screaming any second which made his voice unusually oily even for his own liking.

"But..." Walter gulped. "There's a chemical... a hallucinogen. It's man-made... I'd say, hand-made, even. It's nothing like what I've seen before, Lestrade", he seemed to be speaking with caution. "I can only assume it affected this man's mind in some way."

"How?" Lincoln almost whispered.

It seemed like Walter didn't want to talk about this, but at the same time it seemed like he was forcing himself into it.

"Lestrade, I don't think this particular substance was used to simply cure this man's anemia", he told Lincoln in a very serious voice. "It's reaction with the bloodstream seems to create some sort of electromagnetic field."

Lincoln tried desperately to listen to his every word carefully.

"But what does it have to do with his hallucinations?" he asked. He knew it was dangerous asking any Walter Bishop too many questions. But it was false alarm yet again.

"Everything", Walter simply said staying surprisingly calm. "I know what this drug does, unfortunately. I just needed confirmation to my apprehensions. I've worked on that kind of drug before. These particles... well, let's put it this way. They collect data from the person's memories on subconscious level and interpret them in a very wicked way. In this particular case, Mister Reed was afraid that his wife would cheat on him with his best friend. And that was what he saw."

"So..." Lincoln frowned. "That means that the substance extracts a person's worst fears and uses it against them?"

"Precisely", Walter murmured. "And if used incorrectly, it may lead to irreversible consequences", he looked calm, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.


	4. Chapter 3 The Lorenz Attractor

The moment Libby saw the man in a hat enter the cafe she scowled. He walked up to her table and sat down without saying a word. She kept staring at him silently.

"So?" she finally said.

"I heard you wanted to see me", the man tilted his head.

"Yes", Libby said mocking him. "Why am I still here? Why haven't I gone anywhere?"

She knew she was blurting the words out, all her anger pouring like rain.

"I was ready..."

"Yes, you were", she man said quietly. "But it was not your time to go yet."

Libby frowned.

"I don't understand", she said shaking her head. "How can I still be here?"

"There was some..." the Observer made a tiny pause, "...interference with your plans. You will have to undo something."

There was nothing about his words Libby could comprehend.

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you."

Libby was about to start asking him questions, but her phone rang suddenly.

"Carroll..." she answered,

"This is Broyles. There's a breach on the other side, we need to figure out where the source is and whether it comes from over here or not. Calling all available agents."

Libby glared at September.

"I'm on my way", she replied into the speaker and hung up. After throwing another glance at the Observer she stood up and pointed at him. "I'm not done with you yet."

She arrived at the headquarters twenty minutes later.

"Agent Carroll, this is the report we received from the other side", Broyles gave her one of those fancy pads that the other side's Fringe agents used. The information appeared on the screen. "I need you to go over here and help agent Lee investigate. Secretary Bishop was already informed about your arrival. I'm sorry we couldn't make them give you your credentials sooner."

Libby was surprised she was on the team at all considering everything that had changed.

"I... um... of course, sir", she stuttered. "Which agent Lee is it?"

"The one from over there", Broyles lifted an eyebrow. "Any problems?"

"No", Libby smiled and shook her head. "Quite the opposite, sir."

"Good", Broyles replied still keeping his eyebrow raised. "That means you need to meet with agent Lee and Doctor Bishop and go to New York. Agent Farnsworth is controlling the situation with the terrorists here, so all the help you need will be provided on the other side."

Libby nodded. Soon she was sitting in the passenger seat with Lincoln driving and Walter mumbling something in the back seat.

"I'm sorry to ask..." Lincoln suddenly said. "I mean, we just met and all... but... is it possible that I know you from somewhere?"

He looked at Libby and she smiled shaking her head.

"No, but you remind me of someone I know... knew..." Libby trailed off. There was something wrong. She always knew when something was wrong...


	5. 4 In Which We Dont Meet MrSchroedinger

Olivia slowly opened her eyes feeling her head spin. It took her a few moments to realize she was sitting on a chair and her hands were tied behind her back. Her face felt sweaty, her body was probably reacting to the drugs and random strands of her red hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead.

"Agent Dunham", the voice she'd heard earlier rang in her ears, seemingly distant, but so close at the same time. "So nice to see you are awake."

Fringe Division agent tried to focus on the man whose foggy silhouette she could hardly see until the room stopped moving and she was able to tell he was sitting in a chair just a few feet away from her, legs crossed, a wooden cane in his hands.

"Jones?" Olivia croaked. "How did you..."

She suddenly started coughing unable to deal with her own voice and with the corner of her eye she noticed Lincoln who was also tied to a chair next to her.

"Linc..." the sound that came out of her mouth was another cough, but it seemed to be enough to make the other agent wake up too. She couldn't let the other side down. He was new to all this and she dragged him right into the middle of this madness.

At first Lincoln groaned, then, without even opening his eyes he started pulling at the ropes that were tied around his wrists. He seemed to be coming back to his senses a little longer. Jones's laugh ripped the awkwardness apart.

"My precious agents", he said standing up from his chair. His raspy voice mixed with his accent was sending shivers down Olivia's spine. "I have been waiting for too long to try this on you. I am so glad it is finally happening."

A man came into Olivia's view.

"Frank?" she whispered feeling a sting of pain in her chest. Lincoln fidgeted in his chair.

It wasn't Frank though, she could tell. The man looked like him, but it wasn't him... shapeshifters... A woman appeared next to him. She was asian and tiny and Olivia thought she'd seen her somewhere before.

"Let's see... Seven, come here" Jones said and there was suddenly a syringe in his hand. The woman walked up to him and he injected her with the substance, putting the needle deep into her arm.

And then, all of sudden, the woman started changing right before their eyes. Her hair was getting lighter, she got taller, her clothes began transforming, her face features were morphing, it looked ridiculously disgusting, but then her face was becoming more and more recognizable. Olivia couldn't hold back a tiny gasp that escaped her mouth after she realized she was looking at herself.

Both shapeshifters closed their eyes as if processing something... and then they stepped closer to each other and, to Olivia's terror, she saw herself and her fiance the way people saw them. She... no, that wasn't her... but that woman... she put her arms around Frank's neck... he wrapped his around her waist... their faces were inches apart...

"Strange, isn't it?" asked Jones who was now standing by her chair leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Even stranger than seeing your alternate version."

They both were staring at the couple in front of them who were now kissing hungrily. The look on Lincoln's face made it clear that he wasn't enjoying the view. The couple broke apart staring at each other with looks of pure love and admiration. The man reached into his pocket and something shiny was suddenly in his hand.

"Will you marry me?" Frank said holding up a beautiful ring. Both he and the fake Olivia were smiling at each other. The woman's smile broadened as she nodded and said "yes" and he put a ring on her finger.

Jones's expression was priceless.

"Which one of you kids is doing it?" his eyes kept darting between the real Olivia and Lincoln, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Is it you, agent Dunham? Are you afraid of what's going to happen?"

He walked up to Olivia's chair and leaned closer again.

"Are you not sure of your own choices?" he whispered in a voice that made her shiver with fear.

Jones slowly moved to Lincoln.

"Or is it you, agent Lee?" he pouted. "It's your worst nightmare, isn't it? Your precious Olivia Dunham marrying someone else..."

"Why would it be?" the real Olivia's nostrils were flaring while her copy was happily studying Frank's shiny gift on her finger. "He is..."

Suddenly her eyes narrowed and Lincoln looked down.

"Unless..." she began as if she wasn't sure. "Unless you switched..."

Jones was cackling now. Lincoln kept looking at his knees.

"Lincoln, is that you?" Olivia asked and gulped. "You were here all the time?"

The man in glasses looked at her sideways.

"I couldn't leave you alone in this. Not with him."

It was hard to tell whether Jones was laughing at Olivia or Lincoln or both, it was only clear that he was very satisfied with the results. He turned to one of his men.

"Are the rest here yet?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"The other Dunham and Francis were captured", was the reply.

"Good. Bring them in. If the substance works the same way on them, I think we may consider our project successful." 


End file.
